Chapter 03 · 2334 – 2154 BCE
Akkadian Empire
Sargon brings rival city-states under imperial rule.
~2270 BCE · CL 208 — Carl L. Lippmann Collection, Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, Spain
Lippmann Coll 325
In plain English
This tablet is a cattle count. It lists some number of oxen and cows, then a group of mother cows, then breaks the herd down by age: cows and an ox that are two years old, three cows and two oxen that are one year old. The scribe totals the cows at 24. The record is filed under the name Šuruppak, the town where the herd (or the account of it) was kept.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“[n] oxen (and) cows [n] mother cows [n cows], 2 years old 1(asz) [... ox], 2 years old 3(asz) cows, 1 year old 2(asz) oxen, 1 year old Total: 2(u) 4(asz) [i.e. 24] cows Šuruppak”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CL 061 — Carl L. Lippmann Collection, Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, Spain
Lippmann Coll 327
In plain English
This tablet is a simple headcount list. Nine or ten men are named, each credited with one unit — Lugal-zi, Adda, Šeš-tur, two names now lost (one of them possibly Dudu), Aba-mu-ak, Lugal-ezem, and two more names too damaged to read. At the bottom, a single line sums up the whole group: they are cowherds. In other words, this is a roster of cattle-herders, each assigned to look after (or accounted for with) one animal or unit, kept by some institution's administration.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1 (unit): Lugal-zi 1 (unit): Adda 1 (unit): Šeš-tur 1 (unit): [name broken] 1 (unit): [name broken — ] Dudu [1 (unit):] Aba-mu-ak 1 (unit): Lugal-ezem 1 (unit): [...] 1 (unit): [...] (They are) cowherds.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · OIM A— — Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
MAD 1, 001
In plain English
This is a name list — essentially a personnel roster. Ten individuals are recorded, one per line: Izzinum, ŠU.BAD, Si-ḫursag, Kurub-ilī ('Pray to the gods'), Dadī, Ilum-kimat ('God is the family'), Šu-Mama ('The one belonging to the goddess Mama'), Zunānum, Kirbānum, and Bēlī-ursag ('My lord is a hero'), this last man noted as a lamentation priest. No quantities, totals, or purpose clause survive on what was supplied, so we cannot say whether these men were drawing rations, serving a work detail, or standing as witnesses — only that an Ešnunna scribe needed their names on record.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. Izzinum 2. ŠU.BAD 3. Si-ḫursag 4. Kurub-ilī ('Pray-to-the-gods') 5. Dadī 6. Ilum-kimat ('The-god-is-the-family') 7. Šu-Mama ('He-of-(the-goddess)-Mama') 8. Zunānum 9. Kirbānum 10. Bēlī-ursag ('My-lord-is-a-hero'), 11. the lamentation priest (gala)”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · OIM A22109 — Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
MAD 1, 195
In plain English
This tablet itemizes three land deals. First, a field of about 15 iku went for 16 shekels and 2 small minas of silver, in the name of Dingir-kal. Second, a 6-iku field cost 6 shekels and 2 small minas of silver, under Ilī-aḫī. Third, a small plot of 80 sar went for just under a shekel — one shekel less a third of a small mina — under UD-kum. The bottom line: 22 iku of field less 20 sar in all, for a total of one-third of a mina, 3 shekels, and two-thirds of a small mina of silver. A final, mostly broken line preserved only part of another name.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 2(eše) 3(iku) of field (GAN₂), its price: 16 shekels (and) 2 small minas of silver — Dingir-kal (Ilum-dān). 1(eše) of field, its price: 6 shekels (and) 2 small minas of silver — [I]lī-aḫī. 80 sar (1 géš 20 sar of field), its price: 1 shekel of silver less 1/3 (of a) small (mina) — UD-kum. Total: 1(bur₃) 4(iku) of field less [20 sar]. Total: 1/3 (mina) [3] shekels (and) 2/3 (of a) small (mina of silver). [...]-ir-[...]”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · OIM A07764 — Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
MAD 1, 271
In plain English
This is a barley ledger with five entries. Ubarum gets the largest share, 1 gur and 1 barig (about 360 liters); Naṣrum gets 4 barig (about 240 liters); Nin-nin receives 4 ban (about 40 liters); and Ubartum and Abuna get 3 ban each (about 30 liters apiece). The clerk then totals it all up: 2 gur, 1 barig, and 4 ban of barley — roughly 700 liters in all — and the addition is exact.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. 1 (gur) 1 barig — Ubarum; 2. 4 barig — Naṣrum; 3. 4 ban — Nin-nin; 4. 3 ban — Ubartum; 5. 3 ban — Abuna. 6. Total: 2 gur 1 barig 4 ban of barley.”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · OIM A07765 — Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
MAD 1, 272
In plain English
An inventory of lumber and equipment: five large beams belonging to the Mari consignment; thirty-one large šedu-timbers set aside for transport, handled by Udatum; thirty large beams charged to Ilum-bala, the chariot man; and fifty further items held at the storage depot. Two men, Šu-gubu and Iḫzuzum, are listed at the end, evidently the officials responsible for the lot. In short: a warehouse checklist recording who holds which batch of precious timber and what it is destined for.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. 5 large beams (ur₃ gal), 2. those of Mari; 3. 31 large šedu-timbers, 4. those of the carrying-off (tabāl), 5. (via) Udatum; 6. 30 large beams: 7. Ilum-bala, 8. the one of the chariot(s); 9. 50 ...-objects (KA×KID₂), 10. those of the storage-place (maškani): 11. Šu-gubu 12. (and) Iḫzuzum.”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · OIM A07767 — Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
MAD 1, 273
In plain English
A monthly barley ledger: Abba gets 4 barig of barley (fodder for the oxen); Dadi, Kurub-ilī, Si-hursag, Dada, and Eštar-nu'id each get 4 barig as well. Zawi receives the largest share, 4 gur and 1 barig, and Utu-e gets 2 barig. Everything is added up at the bottom: 10 gur of barley minus 3 barig in all, issued in the month of Irisat. The numbers check out — the clerk did the math correctly.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. [4 barig of barley, (fodder for) oxen:] 2. Abba; 3. 4 barig: Dadi; 4. 4 barig: Kurub-ilī; 5. 4 barig: Si-hursag; 6. 4 barig: Dada; 7. 4 barig: Eštar-nu'id; 8. 4 gur 1 barig of barley: 9. Zawi; 10. 2 barig: Utu-e; 11. Total: 10 gur less 3 barig of barley. 12. Month: Irisat.”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · OIM A07774 — Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
MAD 1, 276
In plain English
This is a head-count of personnel. First, a servant(?), Sumu-tar. Then two men, Ibbi-bi and Erē'um, who are listed as being under the responsibility of (or credited to) Ama-Inanna. Next comes one woman, Meme, identified as a kar-ke — a woman of the quay, probably a prostitute or an unattached female worker. Finally, one more person, Šu-gubu, whose name is partly broken but can be restored. In modern terms: a short staff register noting who belongs to whom in a private or institutional household.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. Servant(?): Sumu-tar; 2. 1 (man): Ibbi-bi; 3. 1 (man): Erē'um — 4. (these are) in the charge of Ama-Inanna; 5. 1 (woman): Meme, 6. the kar-ke woman (harlot/quay-worker); 7. 1 (person): Šu-gu[bu].”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry